Nigeria and the foreign airlines might be heading for a showdown over the backlogs of foreign exchange owed to the airlines.
Wale Edun, Minister Of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday dropped indications that only legitimate claims owed to the foreign airlines will be paid.
Nigeria is reported to be owing the airlines about $783m with only about 10 per cent cleared. Despite recent efforts, the airlines said a significant portion of those funds remained inaccessible to them.
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There are indications that some of the claims by the airlines might be fraudulent which is probably responsible for the statement by the minister.
Recently, $61 million was recently released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the airlines which was described as a little drop by the airlines.
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However, the apex bank said it had cleared the foreign-exchange backlogs of 14 banks and begun settlements with international airlines.
In a statement Wednesday it said that it had paid about $2 billion across sectors including manufacturing, aviation and petroleum, and that it will continue to settle what it termed “the legitimate foreign-exchange backlog.”
Edun told Bloomberg Television earlier on Wednesday that the central bank puts the current backlog at about $5 billion as against the sum of $7b being bandied about. He said it is making regular efforts to pay it down.
Earlier, the CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, disclosed yesterday, January 17, 2024 that the Bank had commissioned an independent forensic review by a reputable firm. She also disclosed that payment of the forex backlog for qualified transactions had commenced.
She, however, noted that the review revealed grave infractions, gross abuse, and significant non-compliance with market regulations, and appropriate sanctions would be enforced in collaboration with relevant agencies.
